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Kevin James weighs L.A. mayor’s race endorsement, City Council run

Former mayoral candidate Kevin James may endorse in the L.A. mayor’s race and is considering running for L.A. City Council, he said in a radio interview Monday morning.

James came in third in Tuesday’s primary, receiving 46,684 votes, or 16.36 percent. City Councilman Eric Garcetti came in first with 33 percent of the vote, followed by Controller Wendy Greuel, who garnered 29 percent.

Appearing on AM 870 ‘s The Answer, James said he had dinner with Garcetti on Saturday night and met with Greuel Friday.

Both want James’ endorsement. The run-off is May 21.

James said his backers may reject both Garcetti or Greuel, raising the possibility that the majority of L.A.’s conservative voters may ignore the run-off.

“I get messages from (my supporters), and they have not gravitated,” he said. Later in the interview, he said some of his backers want him to endorse.

He added that his supporters are angry because so few registered voters went to the polls last Tuesday. “They’re angry at other voters for not turning out. It was a pathetic, 16 percent, maybe 17 percent turnout.”

He said voters will have a hard time distinguishing between Greuel and Garcetti, but there are distinctions between the two candidates, notably Greuel’s labor support.

At one point, Greuel argued she was the more business-friendly candidate , James said.

“She had that argument, and she decided to barter away some of that argument by accepting the support she has from so much of the city’s organized labor,” James said.

“Garcetti has a lot of organized labor support, too. He is very talented as a campaigner. and he is very talented as a politician,” James added. “And he has done a pretty good job as painting Greuel as the candidate that is the choice of labor.”

“He has been able to do that is because so much of the labor Greuel has is more the labor directly related to City Hall,” James added. “He’s got the UTLA, the teachers’ union, he’s got the Teamsters, the engineers and architects…Wendy has the all powerful DWP…”

The union for the Department of Water and Power is backing Greuel. Also, Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents 10,000 city workers, endorsed Greuel last week.

The DWP union and SEIU 721 have upcoming employee contracts at City Hall in the next year and a half.

In the primary, James did well in the Western San Fernando Valley, a longtime conservative base. In City Councilman Mitch Englander’s district, James received 9,038 votes. Greuel came in first with 9,917 votes. Garcetti trailed, receiving 6,834 votes.

Looking ahead, James said he is weighing more political races.

“I’m looking at City Council, and I’ll look at a Congressional seat…I am looking at any number of things.”

James criticized the Daily News and L.A. Times over its coverage of the race. The media can’t be relied on to point out the differences between Greuel and Garcetti, he said.